Richie McCaw Cheat or genius

[Bullrush]

It hurts to say it but I think Pocock may have over-taken Ritchie in terms of pure out-and-out fetcher....but as an all-round player, Ritchie is still way ahead of Pocock. His running and passing game, his knowledge and feel for the game, his leadership and ability to communicate with the ref all make him that much more invaluable. And if Pocock is the best fetcher in world rugby, Ritchie would probably be No. 2.

Yes, the All Blacks lack some depth 10 and 7 right now (although, who had heard of Ritchie McCaw before he toured in 2001??) but every team has those players. Who is close to Pocock or QC (Quade Cooper) for the Wallabies right now??

Perhaps Piri Weepu is NZ best 9 and second-best 10??

 

[qwerty51]

It hurts to say it but I think Pocock may have over-taken Ritchie in terms of pure out-and-out fetcher....but as an all-round player, Ritchie is still way ahead of Pocock. His running and passing game, his knowledge and feel for the game, his leadership and ability to communicate with the ref all make him that much more invaluable. And if Pocock is the best fetcher in world rugby, Ritchie would probably be No. 2.

Yes, the All Blacks lack some depth 10 and 7 right now (although, who had heard of Ritchie McCaw before he toured in 2001??) but every team has those players. Who is close to Pocock or QC (Quade Cooper) for the Wallabies right now??

Perhaps Piri Weepu is NZ best 9 and second-best 10??

Hodgson is very good. Not to mention we still got Waugh.
10 is pretty easy to fix. Berrick, Gits and even Beale would do alright there

 

[Scarfman]

The Wallabies won the battle of the breakdown, turning over All Black ball eight times and only conceding three penalties in the process, while the All Blacks won five turnovers but conceded a whopping 11 penalties in the contest zone.

Breakdown penalties 11 - 3. This is why we won the game. Rolland actually penalised the All Blacks. If he let them do whatever they like, we couldn't have won it.

I seriously hope this is the beginning of getting the ABs back in line with reality as far as breakdown behaviour goes.

 

[Top Bloke]

Bullrush "Yes, the All Blacks lack some depth 10 and 7 right now "

7 maybe yes - 10 - no way - After Carter - Slade, Cruden, Delaney then could go to Brett, up & comers Gareth Anscombe, Robbie Robertson.

Possibly the best fetcher 7 in NZ is Braid, but one to watch Matt Todd

 

[Bullrush]

Hodgson is very good. Not to mention we still got Waugh.
10 is pretty easy to fix. Berrick, Gits and even Beale would do alright there

I'd say that Hodgson is a bit behind Waugh - and I don't think I've ever seen Waugh take to the McCaw as well as Pocock has or with the same consistency.

Berrick, Gits and Beale may be able to cover there as Slade, Delaney and Cruden can cover for NZ.

In saying that, I've stated before and I still believe that the Wallabies would do well to invest in Beale at 10. I think he has the same skill-set as Cooper (or pretty close) and maybe a touch more gas....oh, and he tackles better to. But then so does my 2 yr old son.

 

[Richo]

I'd pick Donald over anyone else at 10 as DC's back-up. He's a match winner. For us anyway.

 

[qwerty51]

I'd say that Hodgson is a bit behind Waugh - and I don't think I've ever seen Waugh take to the McCaw as well as Pocock has or with the same consistency.

Berrick, Gits and Beale may be able to cover there as Slade, Delaney and Cruden can cover for NZ.

In saying that, I've stated before and I still believe that the Wallabies would do well to invest in Beale at 10. I think he has the same skill-set as Cooper (or pretty close) and maybe a touch more gas....oh, and he tackles better to. But then so does my 2 yr old son.

Waugh vs McCaw in the Crusaders/Tahs game was pretty even I thought. In fact Waugh even stole the ball from Richie when he was about to score.

The difference is we've got Gits, Barnes who have all played 10 numerous times before at International level and done pretty well. It's not the end of the world if Quade gets injured before the WC where I think it is for the ABs (Carter) because the others haven't got the experience yet.

 

[Gagger]

Fuck me, if I'm not mistaken, those crazy Dingo selections are working rather nicely

Waugh owned McCaw on the floor in the S14 this year, and he ain't even on our radar. NZ, like the Saffas are conceding the breakdown to Oz.

Atually, is there anyone left contesting it?

 

[Richo]

Bam-Bam smash!

 

[Scarfman]

Fuck me, if I'm not mistaken, those crazy Dingo selections are working rather nicely

Which ones? Brown? Chiz? Snaafu?

I reckon - and you can go trawl back through my posts or just take my word for it - that's I'm being proved right: we DO have the cattle, but have been held back by Mad Robbie.

 

[Bullrush]

Fuck me, if I'm not mistaken, those crazy Dingo selections are working rather nicely

Waugh owned McCaw on the floor in the S14 this year, and he ain't even on our radar. NZ, like the Saffas are conceding the breakdown to Oz.

Atually, is there anyone left contesting it?

After all the Tests these guys have played against each other and you're gonna pick a S14 game to try and say that Waugh is a better 7 than McCaw...laughable.

Just because Gits and Barnes have played at a position doesn't mean there actually good at that position. Otherwise, Gits would still be there. Don't get me wrong - he's serviceable but he's never produced a match winner against the ABs has he? I think Slade or Delaney could be the equivalent at this stage to what Gits is at 1st-five for Aussie. The difference is our blokes are unknown quantities at this stage and could actually become great players....we know what we'll get with Gits.

Some big if's in there from an AB fan point-of-view but it's all we got right now.

Can Nick Evans come home please??...lol

 

[qwerty51]

No one said Waugh was better than McCaw but you asked if Waugh had ever taken on McCaw and we gave an example where he did. He's still one of the best 7s going around.

Gits @ 10 for the Barbarians is where he won the match against the ABs

 

[Bullrush]

No one said Waugh was better than McCaw but you asked if Waugh had ever taken on McCaw and we gave an example where he did. He's still one of the best 7s going around.

Gits @ 10 for the Barbarians is where he won the match against the ABs

Sorry, one game out of the dozens these guys have played each other. Nowhere near the consistency as Pocock has.....would you take Waugh over Pocock??

 

[qwerty51]

Of course not but we're talking about McCaw/Pocock Carter/Cooper replacements here aren't we?

 

[Hugh Jarse]

The GOAT has spoken.

Simple stuff really: Technique, decision making and execution.

 

[Dan54]

Simple, can't believe we all can't do that!!

I do enjoy that programme, proper rugby talk!!

 

[qwerty51]

McCaw just told us everything a coach tells you at u12s when you're first learning the breakdown. Big copy of Scrum V.

 

[Braveheart81]

On a tangent, the internet tells me that Jeff Wilson's nickname Goldie is due to his hair.

Why on Earth isn't it because of Back to the Future?

 

[Strewthcobber]

The GOAT has spoken.

Simple stuff really: Technique, decision making and execution.

Didn't want to touch the "gator roll" technique though did he, smart guy that he is.
It's a real murky area that one

 

[ChargerWA]

The GOAT has spoken.

Simple stuff really: Technique, decision making and execution.

Imagine seeing something like that on the Rugby Club. You'd shit from pure disbelief that they were talking actual rugby nitty gritty.

I'm sure they considered it but it lost out to "Cannonballlll"